22 May 2012
With film and with children

Two book swaps await us in the upcoming days. First, on Sunday (the 27th of May), a day after the end of the Film Music Festival, we invite all book and film lovers. From 3 p.m. onwards, the Wyspiański Pavilion (and if the weather is fine - the square in front of the building on the side of City Hall) will host this year's fourth edition of The Second Life of a Book campaign. This time around, the leading theme will be film. If your shelves abound in books which once inspired filmmakers or some that you consider ideal film material and if you would like to share them with others - this campaign is made for you! Traditionally, we also encourage the exchange of children's books and foreign-language literature.

The youngest readers and their parents are in turn invited to the first in a series of three special editions of The Second Life of a Book scheduled for this year. On the 1st of June, join us for the 2nd Children's Book Fair (Hala Targów in Krakow, ul. Centralna 41a); you will be able to swap children's books in a special Parents' Corner (sector II) throughout the day. Entrance to the Fair is free of charge.

The Second Life of a Book is a joint campaign of the Bookeriada portal and the Krakow Festival Office. The rules are simple: you need to bring along at least one book, but not more than ten. It is important that the books are in good condition and are not specialist literature. Textbooks, maps, atlases, and guidebooks can only be exchanged during two special editions planned for June and August. Children's books (the campaign is covered by the patronage of Kids in Krakow) and foreign literature can be exchanged during all editions. It is worth remembering that books published before 1995 can only be swapped for other books published before 1995. Books published after 1995 can be exchanged for any book available at the swap.

The Second Life of a Book is a campaign that consistently promotes reading in Krakow. It has joined the city's great events, such as the following literary festivals: the Conrad Festival and the Milosz Festival, the Book Fair and the Strefa Wolnego Czytania (Free Reading Zone). Krakow is famous for literature; the most important publishing companies have their offices here, and the Krakow Festival Office supports a host of campaigns that promote reading: only last year we organised a literary happening on the Bernatek Footbridge together with Strefa Wolnego Czytania, and marked Spots for Readers in some of the city's trams as part of the Milosz Year. The 1st edition (on the 26th of February) already turned out to be a great success: more than a hundred book-lovers turned up. Each participant brought along an average of three books; nearly 500 volumes changed owners and another 100 found a new home in our associated libraries.

The Second Life of a Book campaign is supported by: RMF Classic, Gazeta Wyborcza The campaign's partner is: Strefa Wolnego CzytaniaThe campaign is also supported by: OPUS-MThe Book Fair in Krakow is the partner of the Children's Book Fair book swap.